Sonderlust Secrets: Winnipeg, Canada

The world is bigger than we could ever possibly imagine, and it’s scary to think we will never even scratch the surface in this lifetime. Even if we do travel to the same places, we see the world through different eyes, creating a unique experience. As I dive head first into travel, I am inspired by each of your adventures and am starting Sonderlust Secrets as a series showcasing this. Interested in being featured?When people think of Canada, they automatically think of Vancouver, Montreal or Toronto, which is normal as they are the bigger, more touristic cities. When I mention where I’m from, I usually get a few blank stares in return, so I add a simple “it’s somewhere in the middle of Canada,” and that tends to satisfy them. It’s the kind of city most people haven’t heard of, or maybe you’ve heard the name before but cannot, for the life of you, remember where.

You see, Winnipeg is very easy to complain about, it’s also a city Canadians love to hate; it’s extremely cold during the winter, our bus system is awful and there isn’t a whole lot to do. At least that’s according to some of the bitter locals. I’m here to change that. Maybe it’s because I’ve travelled and can see the beauty in the smaller details, or it’s some sort of hometown loyalty, but I really do love Winnipeg. It’s home and it’s a wonderful place to live; the winters may be cold, but the summers are unbelievably beautiful and the people are incredible. So friendly, in fact, that it says “Friendly Manitoba” on our license plates!

During the winter, the temperature drops to an average of -30 degrees Celsius. “How can you possibly LIVE there?!” you may ask? Well, we Canadians are crafty, andalways find a way to enjoy winter anyway. One of my favourites, is when the Red River freezes over and becomes the world’s longest skating rink, with up to 10km of skating surface, along with a pedestrian path and warming huts right on the ice. In February, you can warm up at the Festival du Voyageur with a nice Caribou (a strong alcoholic drink that will definitely warm you up from the inside out) while listening to great music and admiring snow and ice sculptures. It may be insanely cold, but at least it will be sunny! With an average of 318 days of sun per year, Winnipeg has one of the sunniest winters.

Summers are a whole different story. It’s +30 degrees (86 F), sunny and full of life. It’s patio season, and bars will go out of their way to have a patio available for you. Even if it means taking over the entire sidewalk for a makeshift patio! Summer also means festival season, though to be honest, our festival season doesn’t really ever end. We have over 200 days of festivals a year, so you’re sure to find a party somewhere in the city and any time of year. The Winnipeg Folk Music Festival is one of the biggest and oldest folk music festivals in the world, and Folklorama is the largest and longest running multicultural festival in the world! We also have our own Fringe and Jazz festivals, among many, many others.

Winnipeg is also a bit of a movie starts. Many Hollywood movies are filmed and produced in Winnipeg, namely The Haunting in Connecticut (2009), Shall We Dance (2004) and the special effects for Avatar (2012). Not only that, but Hollywood loves referencing to Winnipeg in its movies, usually as a funny-sounding Canadian city in the middle of nowhere. For example, the Simpsons visited Winnipeg, Michael, Oscar and Andy from The Office visited Winnipeg and more recently, the Patel family in Life of Pi (2012) were going to settle into Winnipeg.

Winnipeg is home to the most restaurants per capita in Canada. One of which is a revolving restaurant with a really great view of the city, located at the top of the Fort Garry Hotel, which is known to be haunted. We also have a restaurant inside a train car, another on a bridge overlooking the river, and of course, it’s not
summer without stopping at the Bridge Drive-In for ice cream! Winnipeg is also home to the Winnipeg Jets, our NHL team. We are some of the most devoted (in this case, a synonym for crazy) fans in the league: our arena is considered one of the loudest, and we’ve purchased more merchandise than any other team in the
NHL, even though we have the small market for it.

Even though it has a population of just over 700,000 people, Winnipeg feels like a small town; everyone seems to know everyone and their business. We always joke that it’s a small town that thinks it’s a big city, though it really isn’t all that small in surface area. Maybe that explains why we’re so friendly…!

If you love the great outdoors, Manitoba is the place for you. Endless prairies, breath-taking sunsets, great beaches, many places to go fishing (even in winter!), hunting, camping and wandering in the forest. If you plan on bringing your pets, you won’t have to worry about losing them. As we always say, it’s so flat here, you could watch your dog run away for three days!

Before you go, here are a few fun facts about Winnipeg:

Winnipeg is cree for “muddy waters.”

Winnie the Pooh was inspired by a black name named Winnie by a British soldier after his adopted hometown of Winnipeg. The bear was later donated to the London Zoo.

Winnipeg is 70km North of the US border, and about 20km West of the longitudinal centre of Canada.

Winnipeg has acquired quite a few nicknames over the years: Gateway to the West, Chicago of the North, The Peg, nd of course, Winterpeg.

Neil Young, Chantal Kreviazuk, Anna Paquin, and Sir William Stephenson (the inspiration for James Bond) were all born in Winnipeg!

The first 911 emergency phone number in the world was developed in Winnipeg.

The Royal Canadian Mint in Winnipeg not only produces all the circulating coins in Canada but also currency for 60 countries around the world.

Winnipeg’s Union Station was designed by the same architects responsible for the Grand Central Station in New York City.

There’s an area in Winnipeg called “Confusion Corner,” and with good reason! If you take a wrong turn, you’re doomed! Seriously, google it, you’ll see what I mean. The road signs make no sense at all.

Winnipeg has been named the Slurpee Capital of the World for over 15 years in a row! With about 400,000 a year, we drink more 7-Eleven Slurpees than anywhere else in the world, And yes, in winter as well!

Though I may not always live here, I will always call Winnipeg home. The majority of the people who travel to Winnipeg are those coming home during the holidays to visit family or simply passing through on their way to somewhere else and don’t stay for longer than a few hours. It’s a shame, if you ask me. There are so many great things about this place that are worth visiting. It’s a city with a really big heart and a lot to give.

Emilie is a born and raised Winnippegger, who just recently moved to Berlin. She is addicted to running, travelling, lists and Netflix, and you can read all about her adventures in the German capital, her half marathons and all sorts of other random things on her blog, Daily Emilie. She also writes on Wander(lost), a blog dedicated to her love of travel. Follow along on twitter & instagram!

Comments

I’ve heard of Winnipeg from my Canadian relatives but I never knew much about the city. I don’t know if I could handle the harsh winters but I do think it is amazing that the city makes the most of it by creating a giant ice skating rink. Winnipeg looks lovely!

Manitoba is the only Canadian province I haven’t been to, and this post definitely tempted me to go to Winnipeg – I didn’t realize it was so sunny there! Winters are so much nicer when there’s sun, even if it’s cold.

I visited Winnipeg for the second time last September for work and loved it! I visited the Zoo, Canadian Museum for Human Rights and took in a Jets game. The atmosphere at the hockey game was AMAZING, and I had a hard time leaving the Zoo, especially the new Journey to Churchill section. Winnipeg definitely does not get the attention it deserves.

Those facts are hilarious, who would have known the most slurpees are drank there? This city is so beautiful, but I am most certain that I could NOT survive in that cold of temps, so kudos to all those Canadians doing it every year!

I think snow sculptures are so cool! I would love to see them in person. I can barely pull of a snow man 🙂 I think you are right about the sun. I can do cold, but I NEED the sun. As long as I get a steady dose of sun and blue sky I am happy.